The performer appears on the online meeting and immediately begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming genuinely remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s just what is ideal to experience. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Those who have seen the unapologetically openly gay and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—that she penned with her creative partner and starred in with her friend the talented actress—can understand that Sennott holds much to share, whether on roles, sex, or the pros of forming a high-school brawl society. And, by the end the new seasonal HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that she holds even more perspectives regarding the darker side of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott represents an honorary member for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Influences and Creative Vision
Parallels to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being a fan, citing the show alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which tracks the journey of an influencer Tallulah and ally who is also fledgling representative Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant influence on creative vision was reserved for the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom focusing on an emerging celebrity navigating in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it during lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The inspiration for I Love LA came—to some extent—from personal, at first difficult, move to LA and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. That period marked an era that involved her grasp significant life lessons, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott started creating and acting humor while pursuing performance at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at live shows with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional skits digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females intensely obsessed with having babies; a different one imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will certainly be feeling foolish now. As part of she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she appears to manifested her dream vehicle. A few years back she posted a video titled about Los Angeles on social media, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a show about city dwellers juggling the perks of internet fame (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable pariah). One might simple to make a show about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at its subjects. The series avoids both, resulting in a depiction of affluent twentysomething life that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she says. “I think that young people have been through a lot – I’m mostly thinking of people younger than me, like my little sister, who went to college during Covid, so she had to come home, or my other sister who was doing school online.”|“The younger generation has faced significant
